Champions League 2011/12

Rentboy said:
Wow, it does look like we're finally gonna have El Classico in a Champions League final. This is unmissable!! :D
UEFA should appoint their favourite referee Damnir Skomina :LOL:

But yup it looks like El Classico in the final, pretty much.
No offence to Bayern München. (sorry Chelsea fans, but yes, you're gonna be steamrolled by Barcelona).
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I highly doubt Chelsea will make it as well.

But between Bayern and Real, it's a 50-50 for me.

And if it's Bayern vs. Barca Final, it's another 50-50.

Where as if Real gets through then I'd think Barca would take care of them again and so it's more like 60-40 chance.

Anyway, anything can happen and so it'll be interesting to see what happens next. But yah for me, Barca are most likely already in the final, it's a matter of how badly Chelsea get beaten.

Real vs. Bayern though, hmm... it's a game I'm really looking forward to! It should be very interesting. Robben's gonna single handedly try rape his old team and make them further regret selling him.
 
A couple of weeks ago people were saying here that English referees are the worst and now people think and eventual classico final should have an English referee...

I do hope it will not be a classico final, as i'm sick and tired of classico's...I want Bayern in the final and i don't care against which other team, although i don't think Chelsea have much chance.
 
bebo said:
Bayer vs RM is the final for me, the clasico would be about mourinho vs FCB :LOL:
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+1...

if the final is RM-FCB mourinho will destroy the football's party...


I think that RM beat Bayern...but i wait that Robben and Ribery will be to full...
 
I agree with PLF, Chelsea don't really have anything that can trouble this Barcelona side. they've changed a bit since their last encounter with Messi the focal point now and Chelsea will do well to keep it respectable over two legs.

Real and Bayern though! :... I think has the makings of a classic, I do think Real are the favorites but Bayern have so much quality in their own right its going to be a coin toss.
 
I sincerely hope Barcelona win and they should with relative ease.

Real and Bayern will be intriguing. The downside of a Real-Barcelona final is that it may well end up in a bad tempered brawl which is hardly ideal.

If it is they should ask Howard Webb to referee it. That said Bayern have plenty of match winners and they should expose weaknesses in the Real defence.
 
this weekend i saw bayern-mainz tottenham-chelsea madrid-sporting and levante-barça..

my bet is:

Bayern 1-3 madrid
Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona
 
Can't wait for tomorrow!

Should be like another final it self! It can really go either way. Both teams will have to be at their best.
 
I don't see any favorite. The flow of the match will make things tilt to one side or the other. I would love a close win for Bayern for obvious reasons, but also because we would have an intense 2nd leg then!

I can't see Barcelona favorite against Chelsea. It's the semifinals of the Champions League, guys, hardly a team will walk by another. Things get hard and efforts and nerves tested. Anything can happen!

I hope we see good football matches above all.
 
drekkard said:
I can't see Barcelona favorite against Chelsea. It's the semifinals of the Champions League, guys, hardly a team will walk by another. Things get hard and efforts and nerves tested. Anything can happen!
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Erm, what?! The only thing that disappointed me more than Atkinson on Sunday was Luiz going off injured. He was going to be comic gold against Barca.

The bookies have Chelsea at 6/1!!! (or is it 1/6, can't work out how to type that, as in, Barca are 6x more likely to reach it than Chelsea).
 
Yes, Chelsea are HUGE underdogs by bookies against Barca and I agree with that.

Of course it's CL semi-final and ANYTHING can happen such as an early red card that can change match, a bad referee decision, etc. but if nothing out of the ordinary does happen, you would expect Barca can win both matches and is overall much superior to Chelsea.

Bayern vs. Real on the other hand is a final itself and I have no idea what's gonna happen.

All I can say is if I were a Barca fan I would much prefer Real goes through because chances of beating Madrid again are surely a lot higher than facing Bayern in GERMANY for 1 game in the Final.
 
PLF said:
Yes, Chelsea are HUGE underdogs by bookies against Barca and I agree with that.

Of course it's CL semi-final and ANYTHING can happen such as an early red card that can change match, a bad referee decision, etc. but if nothing out of the ordinary does happen, you would expect Barca can win both matches and is overall much superior to Chelsea.

Bayern vs. Real on the other hand is a final itself and I have no idea what's gonna happen.

All I can say is if I were a Barca fan I would much prefer Real goes through because chances of beating Madrid again are surely a lot higher than facing Bayern in GERMANY for 1 game in the Final.
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well

manu 1-3 barça in wembley, ENGLAND

if barça is better will win..
if bayern is better will win..

but, in my opinion the final will be madrid-barça
 
Difference is I think this Bayern team will be a much bigger challenge to Barca than Man U was and the final is in Allianz Arena in Munich! That final was in Wembley, London NOT in Manchester at Old Trafford!

But yes overall, the better team will probably win and that is probably Barcelona. But it's also much tougher to play ONE 90-minute where ANYTHING can happen than a 2-leg match where usually the better team comes through.

I'm just saying, Barca can beat Real Madrid over again and again. They've only lost to them once in Copa Del Rey and that was a close one. But to play in Bayern's backyard for 90 minutes can be a much bigger task. So I think Pep Guardiola prefers Madrid in final than Bayern or at least I would.
 
Barcleona may be favorites in the overall, but it doesn't take away the feeling that playing at Stamford Bridge again will be a very tough test ofr us. Chelsea is more than able to beat us so there must be great respect there. I doubt we win there. It will be a similar match to that at San Siro. And that was hard!

Personally I would prefer Bayern in the final. Those are all valid points, PLF, but if you appreciate me even a bit, you wouldn't ask for a Classico in the final. My heart would hardly make it! There would be too much tension and it would be a crazy media story. I think football doesn't need a Classico in the final.

So, if we go through... what better for the world of football than Bayern beating Real before that? :SMUG:

Besides, I still think that Bayern is as good in front as it's weak in the back. Ribbery and Robben may destroy us on the run, but try to imagine who would stop Messi, Xavi and Iniesta in the other side. I think Bayern could face the same problems that Man Utd has faced against us in the last two finals.
 
To be honest, if there is one team that can beat Barcelona it is Chelsea...without Abidal Barcelona look vulnerable at the back. Puyol is not good enoug as LB and Masscherano is not good enough as CB. Both Drogba and Torres can exploit that (i would play them both with Mata as a sort of 10,5 or a false winger). Chelsea are very vulnerable against teams with pace, Barcelona's football is not so much about pace...

I won't go so far as to say that Chelsea are favourites but IMO they are less the underdog than people and the bookmakers think.

As for tonight: BAYERN!!!! I don't want a classico in the final and since i prefer Barcelona to Real Madrid (by very far)...
 
@drekkard, I definitely appreciate you and so I want you to live a long healthy life. If that means no Classico and too much tension in final then so be it. :P

But seriously, apart from the tension aspect and it being too hard for you to watch, don't you agree that Barca is more likely to win the final against Madrid than against Bayern in Allianz Arena?! I would say your chances of lifting CL is higher against your old foes Madrid. And if Bayern gets through Real, they'll be super confident, playing in their backyard and see no reason why they should lose the final. They're hungry for CL as it's been a few years since they got it and this year is their best chance in a long time to do so with the final being played there.

As for Chelsea vs. Barca tonight, I maintain that over 2 legs the better team usually wins and for me, there's no question which is the better team. So I fully expect Barca to come through unless something weird happens like a first minute red card or Messi injured, etc.

BUT, I think the only REAL shot Chelsea have is through setpieces. So corners, free kicks and crosses.

When you have guys like Terry, Drogba, Ivanovic and co attacking you in the air and there's only really Pique to defend and Puyol who's not as tall, Chelsea CAN get goals off crosses and corners. Especially since Valdes isn't the best at dealing with crosses and is a bit hesitant at times and of course not the tallest goalkeeper himself.

So If I were Chelsea, I'd do what they did against Napoli. Everyone remembers that EVERY goal Chelsea scored in London against Napoli was through a cross and a header. Even the penalty they got was thanks to a cross and a header. And Napoli who are a better team in the air with a goalie who is better at dealing with crosses than Valdes in my opinion struggled BIG time against Chelsea's aerial prowess. Barca will struglle too. It's their only weakness and it's something that gives Chelsea a chance in this otherwise unfair match up in my opinion.

Especially if Puyol plays left back and you have Mascherano as CB. Drogba will overpower and outjump and outheader Mascherano at one point or another and they just have to hope it doesn't lead to a goal.
 
gerd said:
To be honest, if there is one team that can beat Barcelona it is Chelsea...without Abidal Barcelona look vulnerable at the back. Puyol is not good enoug as LB and Masscherano is not good enough as CB. Both Drogba and Torres can exploit that (i would play them both with Mata as a sort of 10,5 or a false winger). Chelsea are very vulnerable against teams with pace, Barcelona's football is not so much about pace...

I won't go so far as to say that Chelsea are favourites but IMO they are less the underdog than people and the bookmakers think.

As for tonight: BAYERN!!!! I don't want a classico in the final and since i prefer Barcelona to Real Madrid (by very far)...
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I a few agree about puyol in Lb
but mascherano is in this moment 1 of the best CB of the world.


this match no is easy for barça...the people say YES, but...

I think, after I saw the last matchs, Pep guardiola put this

-----------Valdes--------
Alves----Pique-Masche----Puyol
-----------Busquets
Xavi------------------Iniesta
------------------Cesc
Alexis-----Messi-----


I have 1 doubt...Maybe alves-Puyol-masche with adriano in LB
 
Looking forward to the game and hoping we're not talking about the referee later on
 
Wilko22 said:
Looking forward to the game and hoping we're not talking about the referee later on
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The only way Chelsea have even a tiny chance is if the referee isn't as card happy as most that officiate Barca in the CL. The fact of the matter is:

1. Chelsea players will foul Barca players - numerous times in the match
2. Barca players will make the most of it/ surround the ref/ feign injury

If the ref immediately books someone like Mikel or Essien for 'nothing' challenges just because Busquets/Alves/etc has done three sommersaults and cried thick salty tears on the turf than it's not going to be much of a match.

Obviously, Barcelona could beat Chelsea without much effort without resorting to the histronics, but that isn't really the way they roll. In particular, watch for Puyol to slam to ground every time there's an aerial challenge with Drogba...
 
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